Buying into the Tāmaki experience

2 NOV, 2018 | Tāmaki News

They’re part of a new wave of residents buying into Tāmaki and enjoying all that it offers. They’re neighbours Emily Hughes, Alice Dalton and Hans Kalders and there’s an interesting twist to their story.

A nurse by profession, Emily, pictured, had just returned from living in Saudi Arabia and was looking to buy somewhere 20 minutes from the hospital where she works. Emily knew the area well as she had grown up in St Heliers and as a result, Tāmaki ticked a lot of the boxes. The key to her decision to buy the new two-bedroom home in Glenn Innes, were Bayleys’ agents Carmel and Warren. They sold her on the Tāmaki regeneration vision and changes to come.

I wanted to live close to where my family still lives in nearby suburbs and I knew I would get more value for my money buying into Tāmaki, said Emily.

“While there were some issues to start with – like no one told us we needed to call Auckland Council and pay them a fee and they would deliver a rubbish bin, I have enjoyed the experience.

“We all know each other here. I really like the people in our street, my neighbours Alice and Hans and the families. It’s great too seeing the kids playing in the street,” says Emily.

For Emily, the best news was yet to come when she discovered she already knew one of her new next-door neighbours. Prompted by the real estate agents who sold Emily her home, she found out that she had gone to a nearby school with Alice and was pleased to have an old friend next door.

Having someone they knew next door was also a bonus for Alice and Hans who’s experience of buying into Tāmaki was very similar to Emily’s journey. When they started looking for a home, they were living with Alice’s family in Glendowie and were initially looking for an existing home in Te Atatu. They then started to think that they would maybe be better off buying a new house.

An interior designer, Alice Dalton said that she and her accountant partner Hans Kalders both worked full-time and described themselves as not DIY people or keen to buy a ‘doer upper’.

“Buying new was a good option for us and choosing Tāmaki really worked as I grew up in Glendowie and I’d been shopping at Pak’n Save since I was a kid, so it didn’t feel entirely foreign.

“Like Emily too, while the area hasn’t always had a good reputation, it’s so close to the water and there’s a pathway that takes you straight there. It’s also great to have the train line so close.

“Because I grew up in Glendowie where there are pockets of state housing, we were quite drawn to the idea of living in a mixed community. Holistically, it’s better for everyone,” says Alice.

Alice also noted that the local amenities are better than they had realised with some good cafés and a real diversity of retailers including an amazing bakery just a walk up the hill to West Tāmaki Road.